Oven baked cinnamon pork loaf stands or falls on the temperature of the meat. The loaf should be springy and firm with a fine grain, a red brown surface and a strong cinnamon scent. Meat that warms up during grinding turns the loaf mealy, and that is the most common failure.
This version grinds the meat three times, returning it to the freezer between rounds to chill it again. The surface is brushed with annatto oil mixed with cinnamon powder before it goes into the oven.
This batch weighs about 1.1kg, at roughly 237 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 900g pork leg and freeze it for about 1 hour until cold. Slice it thinly and grind it, then tip it into a large bowl. If the meat loses its chill, return it to the freezer for 30 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 teaspoons seasoning powder, 3 teaspoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 3 tablespoons potato starch and 4 tablespoons cooking oil to the meat, one after another. Wearing gloves, mix thoroughly.
Put the meat in a zip bag, flatten it and freeze for 1 hour 30 minutes. Take it out and grind it smooth. Repeat the freeze and grind cycle for 3 rounds in total.
Once the meat is smooth, slightly tacky and pale pink, put it back in a zip bag and freeze for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C for 15 minutes. Mix 3 tablespoons annatto oil with 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Take out the meat, spread it evenly about 2cm thick on a baking tray and brush the annatto and cinnamon oil over the surface.
Bake for 30 minutes at 180 degrees C, take it out to cool a little, then slice.
Tips
Meat kept cold through every round of grinding and mixing is what gives the loaf its firm bounce.
Fish sauce is essential here rather than dry seasoning, since dry seasoning makes the meat mixture weep.
Split the ground cinnamon in two, half into the meat and half mixed with annatto oil to brush the surface for color.
An even 2cm layer bakes evenly, while thick and thin patches cook at different rates.
Letting the loaf cool a little before slicing keeps the cut face clean, as slicing it hot tears it.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.